Automatic loading disc player

ABSTRACT

An automatic disc player including a housing having an elongated slot through which a disc is to be inserted, playback means accommodated within the housing and including a turntable to carry a disc during playback operation, disc carrier means to convey the disc toward a predetermined position with respect to the turntable after the disc is inserted through the slot in the housing, and disc clamp means to move the disc correctly to the predetermined position after the disc is conveyed toward the predetermined position by the disc carrier means, wherein the disc clamp means comprises a support member movable between a release position remoter from the turntable and a disc clamp position closer to the turntable, and a disc clamping member which is rotatably supported on the support member through an elliptical opening formed in the support member and which is cooperative with the turntable for having a disc clamped between the turntable and the disc clamping member when the support member is in the disc clamp position with respect to the turntable, the disc clamping member being formed with a circumferential groove through which the support member engages the disc clamp member along its rim portion defining the elliptical opening therein, the outside diameter of the disc clamping member being smaller than the diameter of the major axis and larger than the diameter of the minor axis of the elliptical opening.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to disc players and, particularly, to anautomatic disc player which is equipped with means to automaticallyconvey a disc to a position ready to be played back.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Disc players to reproduce the information recorded on, for example,digital audio discs are now familiar as household appliances. These discplayers are however originally designed on the assumption that theyshould do justice to indoor placement and have thus been unsuitable foroutdoor uses or for installation on motor vehicles. In order that discplayers of the existing designs be suitable use outdoors or in motorvehicle, they must be more compact in construction, more resistive toshocks and vibrations, more proof against an ingress of dust, and moreeasy to load the discs to be played back.

The present invention contemplates provision of an automatic disc playerwhich will meet these requirements for disc players adapted for outdoorand automotive uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one important aspect of the present invention, thereis provided an automatic disc player including a housing having anelongated slot through which a disc is to be inserted into the housing,disc playback means accommodated within the housing, and disc carriermeans operative to convey the disc toward a predetermined position withrespect to the playback means after the disc is inserted through theslot in the housing, the housing including a stationary member which isheld in position with respect to the housing by means of resilientfastening means, the playback means comprising a turntable to carry adisc during playback operation, a carriage assembly having opticalsignal pickup means incorporated therein and movable with respect to theturntable, drive means operative to drive the carriage means formovement with respect to the turntable, guide means for guiding themovement of the carriage means with respect of the turntable, drivemeans operative to drive the turntable for rotation about an axislocated in conjunction with the carriage assembly, and a supportstructure for supporting, with respect to the disc carrier means, theturntable, the carriage assembly, the guide means, the drive means forthe turntable, and the drive means for the carriage assembly, thesupport structure being coupled to the stationary member by means ofresilient fastening means, the resilient fastening means comprising aresilient element in part engaging the stationary member through acircular opening provided in the stationary member and in part engagingthe support structure, and a rigid collar member fitted into theresilient element.

In accordance with another important aspect of the present invention,there is provided an automatic disc player including a housing having anelongated slot through which a disc is to be inserted into the housing,disc playback means accommodated within the housing, and disc carriermeans operative to convey the disc toward a predetermined position withrespect to the playback means after the disc is inserted through theslot in the housing, the housing including a stationary member which isheld in position with respect to the housing by means of resilientfstening means, the playback means comprising, a carriage assemblyhaving optical signal pickup means incorporated therein and movable withrespect to the predetermined position along a predetermined path, drivemeans operative to drive the carriage means for movement with respect tothe aforesaid predetermined position, and guide means for guiding themovement of the carriage means with respect of the predeterminedposition, the guide means comprising a support structure movable alongthe aforesaid predetermined path with respect to the housing, a pair ofguide rods extending on both sides of and in parallel with thepredetermined path, and retaining means for retaining at least one ofthe guide rods to the support structure at the opposite ends of theparticular guide rod, the retaining means comprising a first retainerelement which is at least in part elastically deformable and which has aconcavity formed therein and having an end defined by the inner surfaceof a wall portion thereof, the particular guide rod having one endportion fitted into the concavity in the first retainer element andreceived on the aforesaid inner surface, a second retainer element whichhas a ledge portion having received thereon the other end portion of theparticular guide rod, a first bearing member located in the vicinity ofthe first retainer element and fast on the stationary member, the firstbearing member having an end face bearing against an axial portion ofthe particular guide rod, the ledge portion of the second retainerelement constituting a second bearing member having an end face bearingagainst the guide rod, a threaded member holding the other end portionof the guide rod against the end face of the ledge portion and fastenedto the second retainer element, the difference between the heights, overthe stationary structure, of the inner surface of the first retainerelement and the end face of the first bearing member being slightly lessthan the diameter of the guide rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of an automatic disc player according to thepresent invention will be more clearly appreciated from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in whichlike reference numerals designate similar or corresponding assemblies,units, members and elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall external constructionof an automatic disc player embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the internal construction of the automaticdisc player embodying the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view showing the internal construction ofthe automatic disc player embodying the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view showing the internal construction of theautomatic disc player embodying the present invention as viewed from oneside of the player;

FIG. 5 is also a side elevation view of the internal construction of theautomatic disc player embodying the present invention but viewed fromthe opposite side of the player;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the internal construction of the automaticdisc player embodying the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the arrangement in which a chassisstructure forming part of the automatic disc player embodying thepresent invention is supported in the housing structure;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a carriage assemblyalso forming part of the automatic disc player embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a rear end view of the carriage assembly illustrated in FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but additionally shows drive meansfor the carriage assembly;

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view showing the turntable structureforming part of the automatic disc player embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the turntable structure illustrated in FIG.11;

FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway view showing the arrangement of doubleloading preventive means included in the automatic disc player embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 14 shows the arrangement of a disc guide member also included inthe automatic disc player embodying the present invention, wherein (A),(B) and (C) are a plan view, a side elevation view, and a rear end view,respectively, of such arrangement;

FIG. 15 shows the arrangement of a disc position detector switch unitfurther included in the automatic disc player embodying the presentinvention, wherein (A), (B) and (C) are views showing differentconditions of the arrangement;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are views similar to FIG. 4 but show conditions of theautomatic disc player different from those of the automatic disc playershown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 18 is a schematic elelvation view showing the arrangement of theturntable and the disc clamp means which form part of the automatic discplayer embodying the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of the resilientfastening means used for the coupling of chassis and support structuresin the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a collar member forming part ofthe fastening means shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 19 but shows the fastening meansdevoid of the collar member illustrated in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is also similar to FIG. 19 but shows a modification of thefastening means illustrated therein;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the arrangement inwhich a guide rod forming part of the guide means for guiding themovement of a carriage assembly is supported on a movable supportstructure included in the disc player embodying the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a side elevation view of the arrangement illustrated in FIG.23;

FIG. 25 shows in views (A) and (B) the conditions in which the guide rodforming part of the arrangement of FIGS. 23 and 24 are to be assembledto the support structure;

FIG. 26 shows in views (A) and (B) cross sections of one of retainerelement used in the arrangement of FIGS. 23 and 24; and

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing a modification of the retainerelement illustrated in FIG. 26.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, first particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, anautomatic disc player embodying the present invention, as denoted in itsentirety by reference numeral 1 comprises a housing 2 having a frontpanel 3 as well as side panels and a rear panel. The front panel 3 ofthe housing 1 is formed with a horizontally elongated slot 3a throughwhich a video and/or audio disc 5 to be played back can be loadedrearwardly into the automatic disc player. On the front panel 3 areprovided pushbuttons such as "START" and "EJECT" buttons as iscustomary.

It may be noted that the rear direction of the automatic disc player asherein referred to occurs in a horizontal fore-and-aft directionindicated by arrow Y in FIG. 1. Thus, the direction indicated by arrow Xin FIG. 1 is a horizontal lateral direction of the automatic disc playerand the direction of arrow Z in FIG. 1 is a vertical direction of theautomatic disc player. The direction of the arrow Z in particular isnormal to the plane on which the disc 5 is to be positioned within thehousing 2 during playback operation. It may be further noted that thevideo and/or audio disc 5 herein shown is assumed, by way of example, tobe 5 inches in diameter and of the type which uses laser beams when inwriting and reading information.

The internal mechanical construction of the automatic disc player isshown in detail in FIGS. 2 to 6. Of these FIGS. 2 to 6, FIGS. 2 to 5show the initial condition of the automatic disc player prior to thestart of a playback operation. As seen in FIGS. 2 to 6, the housing 2has accommodated therein a chassis structure 7 which is composed of twochassis members 7a and 7b. These chassis members 7a and 7b are rigidlycoupled together by suitable fastening means (not shown) and constitutea principal support structure in the housing 2. The chassis structure 7as a whole is secured to the housing 2 by means of four screws 8 andrubber bushings 8' respectively attached to the screws 8 as illustratedto an enlarged scale in FIG. 7.

Within the housing 2 is further accommodated a tray structure 10 whichis movable forwardly and backwardly with respect to the housing 2. Thetray structure 10 is composed of a generally L-shaped base member 10aand a left side member 10b which is securely attached to a left sidewall portion of the base member 10a by means of, for example, screws aswill be best seen in FIG. 6. The main chassis member 7a of the chassisstructure 7 has a right side wall portion, to which a bracket member 12is securely attached also by means of, for example, screws as shown. Thebracket member 12 is formed with a pair of slots 12a each elongated inthe direction of the arrow Y. The base member 10a of the tray structure10 has a right side wall portion having a pair of guide pins 10c. Theguide pins 10c project from the side wall portion of the base member 10arightwardly of the housing 2 and are slidably received in these slot12a, respectively, in the bracket member 12, thus allowing the traystructure 10 to move forwardly and backwardly with respect to thebracket member 12 and accordingly to the chassis structure 7.

On the right and left sides of the chassis structure 7 are positioned apair of movable members 13 and 14 each of which is constructed of, forexample, a rigid plastic. The right movable member 13 is located betweenthe tray structure 10 and the bracket member 12 and is formed with apair of slots 13a also elongated each in the direction of the arrow Y.The guide pins 10c on the right side wall portion of the base member 10aextend through these elongated slots into the slots 12a in the bracketmember 12, as will be best seen in FIG. 5. The movable member 13 is thusmovable forwardly and backwardly along the slots 13a therein as well asthe slots 12a in the bracket member 12 with respect to the traystructure 10 and accordingly to the chassis structure 7. On the otherhand, the movable member 14 positioned on the left side of the traystructure 10 is supported slidably on a guide bar 15 secured to thechassis structure 7. The guide bar 15 extends in the direction of thearrow Y and is securely connected at its opposite ends to lug portionsprojecting from the left side wall portion of the main chassis member 7aas will be best seen in FIG. 6. The left movable member 14 is alsoformed with a pair of slots 14a each elongated in the direction of thearrow Y, and the left side member 10b of the tray structure 10 has apair of guide pins 10e on its left side wall portion. The pins 10e onthe side member 10b are respectively aligned with the pins 10c on thebase member 10a and, likewise, the slots 14a in the movable member 14are respectively aligned with the slots 13a in the right movable member13 each in the direction of the arrow X. The guide pins 10e projectsfrom the side member 10b leftwardly of the housing 2 and are slidablyreceived in the slots 14a, respectively, in the movable member 14, aswill be best seen in FIG. 4. The movable member 14 is thus movableforwardly and backwardly along the slots 14a with respect to the traystructure 10 and accordingly to the chassis structure 7. Though not seenin the drawings, the tray structure 10 is slidably supported on theguide bar 15 at two locations of the structure 10 which are spaced apartfrom each other in the direction of the arrow Y.

In the neighborhood of the rear end of the tray structure 10 ispositioned an interlocking shaft 17 which extends in the direction ofthe arrow X. The interlocking shaft 17 is pivotally supported on thetray structure 10 through appropriate holed provided in the structure 10and has a pair of arms 17a and 17b securely carried at its oppositeends, respectively, by means of, for example, screws or studs. Guidepins 17c and 17d project toward each other from these arms 17a and 17b,respectively, and are aligned together in the direction of the arrow X.These guide pins 17c and 17d are slidably received in verticallyelongated slots 13b and 14b formed in rear portions of the right andleft movable members 13 and 14, respectively. The slots 13b and 14b arealigned with each other in the direction of the arrow X.

On the left side wall portion of the main chassis member 7a is supporteda reduction gear unit 19 including a certain number of gears which arein mesh with one another and which have respective axes of rotation invertical directions. As shown in FIG. 4, these gears include afirst-stage gear 19a and a final-stage gear 19b. A main drive motor 20of the reversible design is held in position in front of this reductiongear unit 19 and has an output shaft having an axis of rotation in thedirection of the arrow X. The motor output shaft has securely carriedthereon a worm gear 20a (FIGS. 3 and 4) which is held in mesh with thefirst-stage gear 19a of the reduction gear unit 19. The final-stage gear19b of the reduction gear unit 19 is held in mesh with a rack member 14cwhich is secured to or forms part of the left movable member 14 as willbe seen in FIG. 4. The rack member 14c is formed along the lower end ofthe movable member 14 and extends in the direction of the arrow Y. Thelocation at which the rack member 14c is thus in mesh with thefinal-stage gear 19b is located intermediate or, preferablyapproximately at a middle point, between the above mentioned twolocations of the tray structure 10 which are spaced apart from eachother in the direction of the arrow Y. The interlocking shaft 17,reduction gear unit 19 and main drive motor 20 thus arranged as well asthe members and elements carried thereon form drive means operable fordriving the right and left movable members 13 and 14 to move back andforth each in the direction of the arrow Y with respect to each of thechassis and tray structures 7 and 10 as will be better understood as thedescription proceeds.

The tray structure 10 and the right and left movable members 13 and 14as above described form part of disc carrier means of the automatic discplayer embodying the present invention. In the embodiment herein shown,the disc carrier means further comprises a generally U-shaped disctransfer plate 22 which is movably positioned below the tray structure10 and between the movable members 13 and 14. This disc transfer plate22 is moved to a position above the turntable (indicated at 45 in FIG.3) to transfer a disc 5 to the turntable and is thus generally U-shapedto accommodate an upper portion of the turntable when moved to such aposition. The disc transfer plate 22 has attached to its upper face onwhich a disc 5 is to be received an appropriate soft protective liningor coating such as, for example, a web 23 of felt (FIG. 6) to protectthe surface of the disc from direct contact with the transfer platesurface. The disc transfer plate 22 has two pairs of guide pinsprojecting from side lug portions of the transfer plate 22, the pinsconsisting of a pair of front guide pins 22 a aligned with and extendingaway from each other in the vicinity of the front end of the transferplate and a pair of rear guide pins 22a' aligned with and extending awayfrom each other in the vicinity of the front end of the transfer plate22. The front guide pins 22a are slidably received in verticallyelongated slots 10f located in a front end portion of the right sidewall of the base member 10a of the tray structure 10 and a front endportion of the side member 10b of the tray structure 10. Similarly, therear guide pins 22a' are slidably received in vertically elongated slots10f' located in a rear end portion of the right side wall of the basemember 10a and a front end portion of the side member 10b. The slots 10fand 10f' in the base member 10a are respectively aligned with the slots10f and 10f' in the side member 10b in the direction of the arrow X. Thedisc transfer plate 22 is thus movable upwardly and downwardly withrespect to the tray structure 10 and accordingly to the chassisstructure 7 over distances limited by the lengths of the slots 10f and10f'. The front guide pins 22a are passed through the slots 10f in thetray structure 10 and further extend through stepping cam holes 13d and14d formed in the right and left movable members 13 and 14,respectively. Likewise, the rear guide pins 22a' are passed through theslots 10f' in the tray structure 10 and further extend through steppingcam holes 13d' and 14d' formed in the right and left movable members 13and 14, respectively. The slots 13d and 13d' are respectively alignedwith the slots 14d and 14d' each in the direction of the arrow X. Aswill be best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of these cam holes 13d, 13d',14d and 14d' consists of a front ramp portion slightly slanting upwardlyand rearwardly, a horizontal intermediate portion extending in thedirection of the arrow Y from the rear end of the front ramp portion,and a rear ramp portion slightly slanting upwardly from the rear end ofthe intermediate portion. Thus, the disc transfer plate 22 is movable ona horizontal plane with respect to the movable members 13 and 14 whenthe guide pins 22a are located in the intermediate portions of the camholes 13d and 14d in the movable members 13 and 14, respectively. Withthe guide pins 22a located either in the front ramp portions or in therear ramp portions of the cam holes 13d and 14d and the guide pins 22a'located in the front or rear ramp portions of the cam holes 13d and 14d,respectively, the disc transfer plate 22 is movable upwardly above ordownwardly below the above mentioned horizontal plane. When the guidepins 22a and 22a' are located in the front or rear ramp portions of therespectively associated cam holes, the disc transfer plate 22 is thusmovable upwardly above or downwardly with respect to the movable members13 and 14 depending upon the direction in which the transfer plate 22 isto be moved in the direction of the arrow Y. The guide pins 22a and 22a'and the respectively associated cam holes in the movable members 13 and14 constitute means which allow the disc transfer plate 22 to moveupwardly or downwardly across a horizontal plane which is fixed withrespect to the turntable and which is movable with respect to each ofthe chassis and tray structures 7 and 10 and to the turntable as will beunderstood more clearly. It may be herein noted that the foremost andlowermost ends of the cam holes 13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d' in the movablemembers 13 and 14 as shown in FIG. 17 are located so that, when the disctransfer plate 22 is carried on the movable members 13 and 14 with thesepins located at these ends of the cam holes, the upper disc-carryingface of the plate 22 is slightly lower than a plane flush with the upperend face of the turntable as will also be understood more clearly as thedescription proceeds. The disc transfer plate 22 is held againstmovement with respect to the tray structure in the direction of thearrow Y with the guide pins 22a and 22a' received in the verticallyelongated slots 10f and 10f', respectively, in the tray structure 10.

During loading of a disc into the automatic disc player, the disctransfer plate 22 is fixedly held in position with respect to the traystructure 10 until the disc 5 placed on the transfer plate 22 beingmoved with respect to the chassis structure 7 reaches a position havingits center axis aligned with the center axis of the turntable. When thedisc on the disc transfer plate 22 reaches such a position with respectto the turntable, the disc transfer plate 22 is unlocked from the traystructure 10, as will be understood more clearly as the descriptionproceeds. Thus, the automatic disc player embodying the presentinvention further comprises lock/unlock means adapted to have the disctransfer plate 22 locked to and unlocked from the tray structure 10depending upon the position of the tray structure 10 with respect to theturntable and accordingly to the chassis structure 7.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, such lock/unlock means of the automatic discplayer embodying the present invention comprises a lever 25 pivotallyconnected at one end to a rear end portion of the side member 10b of thetray structure 10. The lever 25 is thus rockable about an axis in thedirection of the arrow X and has a locking pin 26 projecting from aforemost leading end portion of the lever 25 in parallel with the axisof rotation of the lever 25. Depending upon the position of the movablemember 14 with respect to the tray structure 10, the locking pin 26 thusprojecting from the lever 25 is received either in a cutout 7c formed inthe main chassis member 7a or in a cam slot 14e formed in the leftmovable member 14. The cutout 7c in the main chassis member 7a islocated at the upper end of the left side wall portion of the mainchassis member 7a as shown in FIG. 6, and the cam slot 14e in themovable member 14 is located on a plane flush with the upper surface ofthe main chassis member 7a as will be seen from FIG. 4. The cam slot 14ein the movable member 14 forms a rear end portion of a slot 14f alsoformed in the left movable member 14 and merges rearwardly and slightlyupwardly out of the slot 14f which is elongated in the direction of thearrow Y as will be best seen in FIG. 4. The locking pin 26 on the lever25 is thus movable into this elongated slot 14f to allow the movablemember 14 to move with respect to the tray structure 10 or vice verse.The elongated slot 14f is located so that the slot 14f is flush with thecutout 7c when the tray structure 10 assumes a predetermined positionabove the turntable. The predetermined position of the tray structure 10as herein referred to is such that, with the tray structure 10 in thisposition, the disc 5 placed on the disc transfer plate 22 prior to thestart of playback operation has its center axis aligned with the centeraxis of the turntable over which the transfer plate 22 is positioned.While the tray structure 10 carried on the movable members 13 and 14 isbeing moved toward such a predetermined position in the direction of thearrow Y with the locking pin 26 located in the cam slot 14e, the disctransfer plate 22 is locked to the tray structure 10 and is prohibitedfrom being moved vertically with respect to the tray structure 10. Oncethe tray structure 10 is moved to such a position above the turntable,the locking pin 26 on the lever 25 is allowed to enter the elongatedslot 14f in the movable member 14 and permits the tray structure 10 withrespect to the movable member 14 along the elongated slot 14f. This inturn permits the disc transfer plate 22 to move vertically (viz.,downwardly) with respect to the tray structure 10 with the guide pins22a and 22a' of the transfer plate 22 moving along the stepping holes13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d' in the movable members 13 and 14 as well as thevertically elongated slots 10f and 10f' in the tray structure 7. Thelocation of the cam slot 14e in the movable member 14 is further suchthat the slot 14e is allowed to align the cutout 7c in the chassismember 7a in the direction of the arrow X when the tray structure 10 ismoved to the predetermined position above the turntable. When the traystructure 10 reaches the predetermined position, the locking pin 26 onthe lever 25 is thus received in the cutout 7c in the chassis member 7awhile the pin 26 is moving from the cam slot 14e into the elongated slot14f. This provides locking engagement between the chassis and traystructures 7 and 10 through the locking pin 26 in the cutout 7c so thatthe tray structure 10 is locked to the housing 2.

The combination of the above described drive and lock/unlock means aswell as the chassis and tray structures 7 and 10, movable members 13 and14 and disc transfer plate 22 forms disc transfer means to move a discto a predetermined position with respect to the turntable in theautomatic disc player embodying the present invention.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises disc playback means adapted to play back the disc thus movedto the predetermined position above the turntable.

The disc playback means is also enclosed within the housing 2 andcomprises a generally U-shaped support structure 28 positioned below thechassis structure 7 as shown in FIG. 6. The support structure 28 issecurely attached to the lower face of the main chassis member 7a of thechassis structure 7 by means of four screws 29 and rubber bushings 29'.To this support structure 28 are secured a pair of guide rods 30a and30b which are spaced apart in parallel from each other in the directionof the arrow X and which extend in the direction of the arrow Y. Theseguide rods 30a and 30b are securely attached to the support structure 28by means of, for example, screws and fittings as shown. A generallyU-shaped slider 31 has two side portions slidably received on theseguide rods 30a and 30b, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 and isthus movable back and forth in the direction of the arrow Y with respectto the support structure 28. The slider 31 has a generally box-shapedcasing 33 rotatably mounted on an intermediate portion of the slider 31by means of a screw or pivot element 31a which has a center axis in thedirection of the arrow Y. The casing 33 is thus pivotally movable withrespect to the slider 31 about an axis parallel with the direction ofmovement of the slider 31 with respect to the chassis structure 7. Thecasing 33 has enclosed therein optical signal pickup means including anobjective lens 33a fitted in the upper wall portion of the casing 33.The objective lens 33a forming part of the optical signal pickup meansis provided to have a laser spot focussed on the surface of the discplaced on the turntable for reading information from the record surfaceof the disc. The optical signal pickup means of this nature is per sewell known in the art and, as such, detailed construction thereof is notherein illustrated.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the slider 31 has in its intermediate portiona slot 31b which is elongated in a direction which passes through thecenter axis of the screw or pivot element 31a. An offset-head screw 35has its threaded step portion 35a driven into a rear wall portion of thecasing 33 with its circular head portion 35b received in the elongatedslot 31b and offset from the stem portion 35a. Thus, the casing 33 isdriven to turn minutely about the center axis of the screw or pivotelement 31a a by turning the offset-head screw 35 in either directionabout the axis of the screw 35. The offset-head screw 35 and the slot31b provide means to adjust the angular position of the casing 33 aboutthe center axis of the screw or pivot element 31a and accordinglycalibrate the tangential position of the pickup means with respect tothe disc to be played back. After the optical signal pickup means isthus calibrated, the casing 33 is secured the slider 31 by tightening aset screw 31c fitted through the slider 31 into the casing 33 as shown.

The base member 10a of the tray structure 10 is formed with a circularopening 10d as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The opening 10d in the traystructure 10 is located to be vertically aligned with the objective lens33a in the casing 33 when the tray structure 10 is in the abovementioned predetermined position above the turntable and concurrentlythe casing 33 is in a predetermined home position with respect to theturntable. The home position of the casing 33 is the position which thecasing 33 assumes when the signal pickup means in the casing 33 is readyto operate on the disc placed on the turntable. The opening 10d thusformed in the tray structure 10 provides an access to the outer surfaceof the objective lens 33a in the casing 33 and enables the user of theplayer to wipe off or otherwise clean the lens 33a from the outside ofthe casing 33 without having recourse to removing some component membersof the disc transfer means. If desired, such an opening may be provided,rather than in the tray structure 10, in any member forming part of thedisc transfer means if the member is to intervene between the lens 33aand the tray structure 10 when the tray structure 10 and the casing 33are in the above mentioned positions thereof with respect to theturntable. Where it is desired to have the lens 33a cleaned from theoutside of the housing 2, an opening may be formed in the upper panel ofthe housing 2 as indicated at 2a in FIG. 1. This opening 2a is alsolocated to align with the lens 33a when the tray structure 10 and thecasing 33 are in the above mentioned positions thereof with respect tothe turntable. A suitable cover element 2b may be movably or detachablyattached to the upper panel of the housing 2 to close the opening 2aexcept when the opening 2a is to be used. The openings thus provided inthe tray structure 10 and the housing 2 may be used not only for thecleaning of the lens 33a but for the calibration of the radiation powerto be achieved of the optical signal pickup means enclosed within thecasing 33.

The combination of the slider 31 and casing 33 constructed and arrangedas above described form a carriage assembly 34 in the disc transfermeans of the automatic disc player embodying the present invention.

The support structure 28 also forming part of the disc playback meanshas a left side portion carrying a screw shaft 37 as shown in FIGS. 6and 10. The screw shaft 37 extends in parallel with the guide rods 30aand 30b, viz., in the direction of the arrow Y and has its opposite endportions journaled in lug portions projecting from the left side portionof the support structure 28. In front of this screw shaft 37 ispositioned a reversible motor 38 having an output shaft having a centeraxis in the direction of the arrow Y and carrying a drive pulleythereon, though not seen in the drawings. In association with thisdriven pulley is provided a driven pulley 39 which is securely mountedon a shaft axially aligned with and coupled to the screw shaft 37. Anendless belt is passed between these drive and driven pulleys andcompletes drive transmission means from the motor 38 to the screw shaft37. The slider 31 forming part of the above mentioned carriage assembly34 has a bracket member 41 securely attached by means of, for example,screws to the left side portion of the slider 31 as shown in FIG. 10.The bracket member 41 is preferably constructed of a spring steel platewhich is elastically deformable in the direction of the arrow Z. Thebracket member 41 extends over the screw shaft 37 and has asemicylindrical nut member 42 securely attached to the lower face of thebracket member 41. The nut member 42 is held in mesh with the screwshaft 37 so that the slider 31 carrying the nut member 42 is driven forforward or backward movement along the screw shaft 37 when the screwshaft 37 is rotated in either direction about the center axis thereof.The screw shaft 37, the nut member 42 and the above mentioned drivetransmission means to drive the screw shaft 37 from the motor 38 form,in combination, carriage drive means to drive the carriage assembly 34to move back and forth in the direction of the arrow Y with respect tothe support structure 28 and accordingly to the housing 2.

FIGS. 11 and 12 of the drawings show the construction and arrangement ofa turntable assembly including the turntable which has been referred tofrequently. The turntable assembly is supported on the above mentionedsupport structure 28 and is positioned on an extension of the directionof movement of the above described carriage assembly 34, largelyintervening between the carriage assembly 34 and the above describedcarriage drive means. As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the turntable,now designated by reference numeral 45, is supported by a spindle-drivemotor 46 and is directly driven for rotation by the motor 46. Thespindle-drive motor 46 has an output shaft 46a journaled in bearings 46breceived in a bearing retainer portion of the support structure 28.Ordinarily a gap of the order of about ten microns exists between themotor output shaft 46a and each of the bearings 46b. Such a gap isminimized by shaft retaining means 47a including an idler roller 47bheld in rollable engagement with an axial portion of the shaft 46a asshown. The output shaft 46a of the spindle-drive motor 46 is maintainedin close contact with the bearings 46b by means of this idler roller 47band assures smooth and uniform rotation of the turntable 45. Thepreviously mentioned disc playback means of the automatic disc playerembodying the present invention is constituted by the combination of thesupport structure 28, guide rods 30a and 30b, carriage assembly 34,carriage drive means, turntable 45, spindle-drive motor 46 and idler 47bas above described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the casing 33 formingpart of the carriage assembly 34 has in its front wall portion arearwardly recessed concavity 33b having an arcuate cross section on ahorizontal plane. This concavity 33b is provided to accommodate portionsof the turntable 45 and the spindle-drive motor 46 when the carriageassembly 34 is held in its home position with respect to the turntable45.

The support structure 28 is coupled to the chassis structure 7 by meansof the four screws 29 respectively associated with the rubber bushings29' as previously noted. The rubber bushings 29' are used for thepurpose of protecting the above mentioned disc playback means,particular, the turntable 45 from shocks and vibrations that may betransferred thereto from the outside of the player system as, typically,when the player is installed on a motor vehicle. In this instance, it ispreferable the locations at which the support structure 28 is coupled tothe chassis structure 7 by such fastening means be such that aredisposed symmetrically on a circle having its center at the middle pointbetween an extension of the axis of rotation of the turntable 45 and themiddle point of the linear locus to be described by the center ofgravity of the carriage assembly 34. Such arrangement of the rubberbushings 29' will provide a maximum shock and vibration attenuationefficiency by the bushings 29'. While the particular arrangement of thebushings 29' is prefered in view of the displacement of the center ofgravity of the carriage assembly 34, approximately similar results willbe achieved if the locations of the rubber bushings 29' are determinedso that the bushings are disposed symmetrically on a circle having itscenter at the center of gravity of the disc playback means when thecenter of gravity of the carriage assembly 34 is located at the middlepoint of the linear locus to be described by the center of gravity ofthe carriage assembly 34.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises disc clamp means for claming a disc 5 on the turntable 45after the disc 5 has been conveyed to the predetermined position withrespect to the turntable 45. In the embodiment of the automatic discplayer herein shown, such disc clamp means comprises a largelyrectangular horizontal support plate 51 which is positioned between theright and left movable members 13 and 14 and above the turntable 45 aswill be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. The support plate 51 has a pair oflug portions depending downwardly from each of the right and left sideedges thereof. Guide pins 51a project rightwardly from the two lugportions at the right edge of the plate 51 and are slidably received inslots 10g formed in the right side wall portion of the base member 10aof the tray structure 10. Likewise, guide pins 51a project leftwardlyfrom the two lug portions at the left edge of the plate 51 and areslidably received in slots 10g formed in the left side member 10b of thetray structure 10. The pins 51a at one edge of the support plate 51 andthe slots 14g in the movable member 14 are respectively aligned with thepins 51a at the other edge of the support plate 51 and the slots 13g inthe other movable member in the direction of the arrow X. Each of theslots 10g is elongated in the direction of the arrow Z so that thesupport plate 51 is vertically movable with respect to the traystructure 10 over distances limited by the lengths of the slots 10g. Thepins 51a on the support plate 51 extend through these slots 10g in thetray structure 10 and are further slidably received in cam holes 13g and14g formed in the right and left movable members 13 and 14,respectively, the cam holes 13g in the movable member 14 beingrespectively aligned with the cam holes 14g in the movable member 14each in the direction of the arrow X. These cam holes 13g and 14g arelinearly inclined upwardly rearwardly, so that the support plate 51carried on the movable members 13 and 14 by the pins 51a is to be guidedto move upwardly when driven to move rearwardly with respect to themovable members 13 and 14 and accordingly to the turntable 45. Thus, thesupport plate 51 has an upper disc release position (shown in FIG. 3)with the pins 51a located at the uppermost and rearmost ends of the camslots 13_(g) and 14_(g) as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and a lower disc clampposition with the pins 51a located at the lowermost and foremost ends ofthe cam slots 13g and 14g. The support plate 51 is vertically movablebetween these two positions with respect to the movable members 13 and14 and accordingly to the turntable 45. In the description to follow,the previously mentioned stepping cam holes 13d and 14d in the movablemembers 13 and 14 will be referred to as first cam holes, while the camstraight inclined cam holes 13g and 14g thus formed additionally in themovable members 13 and 14 will be referred to as second cam holes. Itmay be noted in connection with these cam holes that all these first andsecond cam holes 13d, 14d, 13g and 14g have equal lengths each in thedirection of the arrow Y.

On the support plate 51 is positioned a circular clamping member 52which is positioned above and in alignment with the turntable 45 andwhich is rotatably mounted on the support plate 51 through an opening51b (FIG. 3) formed in the support plate 51. The opening 51b ispreferably generally elliptical in shape and, in this instance, theoutside diameter of the disc clamping member 52 is smaller than thediameter of the major axis and larger than the diameter of the minoraxis of the elliptical opeing 51b in the support plate 51. The clampingmember 52 has an upper disc portion positioned above a plane flush withthe upper face of the support plate 51 and a lower annular portionpositioned below a plane flush with the lower surface of the supportplate 51. A circumferential groove 52c is thus formed between the upperdisc portion and lower annular portion of the clamping member 52, whichthus engages the support plate 51 through this groove 52c, as will beseen from FIG. 3. The clamping member 52 is thus slightly movablevertically with respect to the support plate 51 through the opening 51b.On the lower face of the upper disc portion of the clamping member 52 isattached an annular permanent magnet 52a which urges the clamping member52 have its upper disc portion attached to the upper face of the supportplate 51 as shown in FIG. 3. For this purpose, each of the support plate51 and clamping member 52 is constructed of magnetic metal such assteel. The upper face of the clamping member 52 is preferably lined witha soft web 52b of, for example, felt which protects the clamping member52 from being brought into direct contact with the inner surface of theupper panel of the housing 2 when the support plate 51 held in the abovementioned upper disc release position is caused to move vertically by ashock transmitted thereto. Such a soft web may be provided, rather thanon the clamping member 52, on the inner surface of the upper panel ofthe housing 2 in such a manner as to register with at least a portion ofthe upper face of the clamping member 52, though not shown in thedrawings.

A pair of retainer plates 54 and 55 are positioned immediately below thesupport plate 51 as shown in FIG. 2. These retainer plates 54 and 55 arespaced apart from each other in the direction of the arrow X across theclamping member 52 and are retained to the support plate 51 by means ofguide pins 54a and 55a projecting downwardly from the support plate 51,three of the pins being provided for each of the retainer plates 54 and55. The guide pins 54a and 55a engaging each of the retainer plates 54and 55 are slidably received in slots 54g formed in each retainer plateand elongated each in the direction of the arrow X. The pins 54a and theelongated slots 54g of one retainer plate 54 are respectively alignedwith the pins 55a and the elongated slots 55g of the other retainerplate 55, and each of the slots 54g and 55g terminates in an enlargedcircular inner end portion. The pins 54a engaging the retainer plate 54are located in symmetry with the pins 55a engaging the retainer plate 55with respect to a center line which extends through the center axis ofthe clamping member 52 in the direction of the arrow Y. The retainerplates 54 and 55 have arcuate edge portions 54b and 55b shapedconformingly to and extending in and along the circumferential groove52c in the clamping member 52 as will be seen from FIG. 2. Two or anysuitable number of lugs project from the arcuate edge portion 54b or 55bof each of the retainer plates 54 and 55 and project into thecircumferential groove 52c in the clamping member 52.

At the rear of the retainer plates 54 and 55 are provided a pair ofsynchronizer plates 57 and 58, respectively, which are also positionedimmediately below the support plate 51 as shown in FIG. 2. Thesesynchronizer plates 57 and 58 are pivotally coupled to the support plate51 by means of vertically extending pivot pins 57a and 58a,respectively, and are thus rotatable independently of each other aboutthese pins on a horizontal plane below the support plate 51. The pins57a and 58a thus serving as pivot elements are located in symmetry witheach other also with respect to a center line which extends through thecenter axis of the clamping member 52 in the direction of the arrow Y.The synchronizer plates 57 and 58 have inner side arm portions 57c and58c extending toward each other away from the pins 57a and 58a,respectively, front arm portions 57d and 58d extending generallyforwardly away from the pins 57a and 58a, respectively, and outer sidearm portions 57e and 58e extending opposite to the inner side armportions 57c and 58c, respectively, as shown. The inner side arm portion58c of the right synchronizer plate 58 is formed with a slot 58f whichis elongated in the direction of the arrow X and which is open at theextreme end of the arm portion 58c. On the other hand, the inner sidearm portion 57c of the left synchronizer plate 57 has an end portionraised over and overlapping an end portion of the arm portion 58c of thesynchronizer plate 58 as will be seen in FIG. 6. A pin 57f projectsdownwardly from this raised end portion of the arm portion 57c and isslidably received in the elongated slot 58f in the synchronizer plate58, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2. The forwardly extendingfront arm portions 57d and 58d of the synchronizer plates 57 and 58 arealso formed with slots 57g and 58g, respectively, which are open at theextreme ends of the arm portions 57d and 58d. The slots 57g and 58g inthe synchronizer plates 57 and 58 are elongated each in the direction ofthe arrow Y as shown in FIG. 2 and have slidably received therein pins54e and 55e projecting upwardly from the retainer plates 54 and 55,respectively. Thus, the synchronizer plates 57 and 58 are provided toallow the retainer plates 54 and 55 to move synchronously with eachother with respect to the support plate 51.

In the description to follow, the combination of the right retainer andsynchronizer plates 54 and 57 will be referred to as first positionholding means 61 and, likewise, the combination of the left retainer andsynchronizer plates 55 and 58 will be referred to as second positionholding means 62. These pairing first and second position holding means61 and 62 are positioned on a plane perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of the clamping member 52 and engage the clamping member 52 attwo or more points along the circumference of the clamping member 52 asby means of the lug portions 54c and 55c of the retainer plates 54 and55. The first and second position holding means 61 and 62 are urged tohave the lug portions 54c and 55c of the retainer plates 54 and 55forced against the peripheral surface defining the radially inner end ofthe circumferential groove 52c in the clamping member 52. For thispurpose, a helical tension spring 64 is anchored at one end to a frontend portion of the retainer plate 54 and at the other to a front endportion of the retainer plate 55 as shown in FIG. 2, thus urging theretainer plates 54 and 55 toward each other in the direction of thearrow X. The first and second position holding means 61 and 62 and thistension spring 64 constitute in combination alignment means formaintaining the clamping member 52 in a predetermined position withrespect to the support plate 51 in the embodiment shown. Furthermore,the combination of the alignment means, support plate 51 and clampingmember 52 as well as the members and elements associated with theseconstitutes the disc clamp means adapted to have a disc 5 clamped ontothe turntable 45 after the disc 5 has been conveyed to the predeterminedposition with respect to the turntable 45.

The above mentioned alignment means including the first and secondposition holding means 61 and 62 lends itself not only to thepositioning of the clamping member 52 with respect to the support plate51 but to positioning a disc 5 correctly on the disc transfer plate 22after the disc 5 has been inserted into the automatic disc playerthrough the slot 3a (FIG. 1) in the housing 2.

The first and second position holding means 61 and 62 are positioned onboth sides of the path of a disc 5 to be transferred to the turntable 45within the housing 2. Such position holding means 61 and 62 are movableon planes perpendicular to the plane on which the disc 5 is to be placedon the disc transfer plate 22 which forms part of the disc carrier means(which further comprises the tray structure 10 and the right and leftmovable members 13 and 14 as previously mentioned). On the lower face ofthe retainer plates 54 and 55 forming part of these first and secondposition holding means 61 and 62 are provided disc retaining pins 54fand 55f, respectively and on the lower face of the synchronizer plates57 and 58 also forming part of the position holding means 61 and 62 areprovided disc retaining pins 57h and 58h, respectively. The discretaining pins 54f and 55f are located on outer side extensionsprotruding from front end portions of the retainer plates 54 and 55,respectively, and the disc retaining pins 57h and 58h are located on thepreviously mentioned outer side arm portions 57e and 58e of thesynchronizer plates 57 and 58, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2. Thesedisc retaining pins 54f, 55f, 57h and 58h extend in directions normal tothe plane on which the disc 5 is to be placed on the disc transfer plate22 and are used as disc retaining elements to engage the disc while thedisc is being transferred to the turntable 45 within the housing 2. Inthis instance, the tension spring 64 provided between the retainerplates 54 and 55 serves to urge these disc retaining pins 54f, 55f, 57hand 58h to engage the edge of the disc being moved inwardly in thehousing 2. Each of the disc retaining pins 54f, 55f, 57 h and 58h istapered toward its lower end as shown in FIG. 6. When the disc 5 isbeing loaded into the automatic disc player or being withdrawntherefrom, the disc 5 is retained by these pins 54f, 55f, 57h and 58hand is urged to move downwardly toward the upper face of the disctransfer plate 22 due to the downward forces which result from thetapered surfaces of the pins.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises disc releasing means adapted to have a disc 5 released fromthe hereinbefore described alignment means.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the disc releasing means comprises arelatively small-sized bracket member 71 having a generally L-shapedcross section. The bracket member 71 forms part of or is securelyconnected to the left movable member 14 and projects rightwardly fromthe upper end of the movable member 14. A pin 72 projects downwardlyfrom this bracket member 71 and, in association with this pin 72, thereis provided a pawl member 73 which is secured to the outer side armportion 58e of the left synchronizer plate 58 by means of, for example,screws as shown in FIG. 2. The pin 72 and the pawl member 73 are locatedso that the former is to be brought into engagement with the latter atthe front end of the latter when the tray structure 10 movable with thedisc transfer plate 22 assumes the previously mentioned predeterminedposition in which the disc 5 placed on the transfer plate 22 has itscenter axis substantially aligned with the axis of rotation of theturntable 45. As the movable members 13 and 14 are moved rearwardlyafter the tray structure 10 has reached this position with respect tothe turntable 45, the pin 72 on the movable member 14 presses the pawlmember 73 rearwardly and causes the left synchronizer plate 58 to turnclockwise in FIG. 2 about the axis of the pivot pin 58a with respect tothe support plate 51. The turning motion of the synchronizer plate 58 istransmitted on one hand through the inner side arm portion 58c of theplate 58 to the inner side arm portion 57c of the right synchronizerplate 57 through the pin 57f on the arm portion 57c and causes thesynchronizer plate 57 to turn counter clockwise in FIG. 2 about the axisof the pivot pin 57a with respect to the support plate 51. As a resultof the clockwise and counter clockwise turn of the synchronizer plates57 and 58, the pins 57h and 58h on the outer side arm portions 57e and58e of the plates 57 and 58 are caused to move rearwardly with respectto the disc transfer plate 22 and are thus disengaged from the disc 5placed on the transfer plate 22. The turning motion of the synchronizerplate 58 is on the other hand transmitted through the front arm portion58d of the plate 58 to the left retainer plate 55 through the pin 55e onthe plate 55 and causes the retainer plate 55 to move outwardly in thedirection of the arrow X with respect to the support plate 51. Theturning motion of the right synchronizer plate 57 in turn is transmittedthrough the front arm portion 57d of the plate 57 to the right retainerplate 54 through the pin 54e on the plate 54 and also causes theretainer plate 54 to move outwardly in the direction of the arrow X withrespect to the support plate 51. The right and left retainer plates 54and 55 respectively forming part of the first and second positionholding means 61 and 62 are thus caused to move way from each other inthe direction of the arrow X against the force of the tension spring 64as the movable members 13 and 14 are moved rearwardly after the traystructure 10 has reached the predetermined position with respect to theturntable 45. The retainer plates 54 and 55 being thus moved away fromeach other, the pins 54f and 55f thereon are also moved away from eachother and are in the result disengaged from the disc 5 on the disctransfer plate 22. The disc 5 on the disc transfer plate 22 is in thisfashion released from the pins 54f, 55f, 57h and 58h forming part of thefirst and second position holding means 61 and 62.

The pin 72 on the movable member 14 is tapered downwardly, viz., in adirection in which the disc transfer plate 22 is to move toward theturntable 45, as will be seen from FIG. 6. The pawl member 73 fastenedto the synchronizer plate 58 is thus allowed to engage the pin 72 by anedge-to-point contact with the pin 72 and produces a minimum offrictional force between the pin 72 and the pawl member 73 when the pawlmember 73 is being moved by the pin 72. This provides smooth andunresisted movement of the retainer plates 54 and 55 and synchronizerplates 57 and 58 during loading and unloading of the disc 5. The taperedconfiguration of the pin 72 will further contribute to imparting athrust to the synchronizer plate 58 being turned clockwise.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises antistatic brush means to remove static charges from the disc5 to be loaded into the player through the slot 3a in the housing 2.

Such antistatic brush means comprises a pair of, upper and lower, strips76 and 77 which are disposed immediately inside the horizontallyelongated slot 3a in the front panel 3 of the housing 2 as shown in FIG.13 of the drawings. These strips 76 and 77 are formed of an electricallyconductive, resilient material such as carbon-dispersed rubber. Theresilient strips 76 and 77 extend along the slot 3a throughout thelength of the slot 3a and have their upper and lower end portions bondedto or otherwise securely attached to fixtures 78 and 79, respectively,extending along the strips 76 and 77. The fixtures 78 and 79 are securedto the inner face of the front panel 3 of the housing 2 so that theresilient strips 76 and 77 are held in position with respect to the slot3a. Each of the fixtures 78 and 79 is also formed of an electricallyconductive material and is grounded through an appropriate conductor(not shown). The resilient strips 76 and 77 have lower and upper endportions which are either held in contact with or slightly spaced apartfrom each other at the rear of the slot 3a and are resilientlydeformable toward and away from the slot 3a. The disc 5 inserted throughthe slot 3a into the housing 2 can thus be passed between the lower andupper ends of the strips 76 and 77 so that the static charges which mayhave been deposited on the surfaces of the disc can be transferred tothe strips 76 and 77 and ultimately to ground. The dust which may havebeen deposited on the disc 5 to be loaded into the automatic disc playercan thus be precluded from being admitted into the automatic discplayer. Each of the strips 76 and 77 is preferably thinned between theupper and lower end portions thereof as indicated at 76a and 77a toprovide an increased degree of resiliency. Also preferably, each of therespective lower and upper end portions of the strips 76 and 77 isshaped to have a rounded cross section as shown, to provide smoothnessof passage of the disc 5 between the strips.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises means for preventing loading of two or more discs into theautomatic disc player. Such double loading preventive means comprises abell-crank lever 85 attached to the inner face of the bracket member 12secured to the chassis structure 7, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6. Thelever 85 thus intervening between the bracket member 12 and the rightmovable member 13 extends generally in the direction of the arrow Y andis pivotally mounted on the bracket member 12 by means of a pivot pin85a extending in the direction of the arrow X. The lever 85 is caused toturn clockwise in FIG. 5 about the pivot pin 85a as the movable member13 moves rearwardly to load a disc 5 into the automatic disc player. Infront of the lever 85 is positioned a slot closing member 86 having agenerally J-shaped cross section and movable upwardly and downwardlywith respect to the chassis structure 7 along an appropriate guidemember (not shown) attached to, for example, the housing 2. The slotclosing member 86 has a pin 86a projecting rightwardly from a lowerportion of the member 86. The pin 86 is slidably received in anopen-ended slot 85b formed in a front arm portion of the bell-cranklever 85 and elongated generally in the direction of the arrow Y. Theslot closing member 86 is movable upwardly from and downwardly back to apredetermined vertical position shown in FIG. 5 as the bell-crank lever85 is caused to turn clockwise and counter clockwise in FIG. 5. When theslot closing member 86 is held in this position, the front lug portionof the slot closing member 86 is located below a plane flush with thelower end of the slot 3a in the housing 2 as will be seen from FIG. 5.When the movable member 13 is moved rearwardly with respect to thehousing 2 during loading of a disc 5, the bell-crank lever 85 is drivento turn clockwise in FIG. 5 about the pivot pin 85a. This causes theslot closing member 86 to move upwardly from the above mentionedvertical position thereof to a position having its front lug portionlocated at the rear of the slot 3a, thus forming an obstacle to entry ofanother disc into the automatic disc player through the slot 3a. Thedouble loading preventing means is thus driven by the movement of themovable member 13 and, accordingly, uses no extra drive means proper tosuch means.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises disc guide means for guiding the movement of the disc 5 fromthe slot 3a to the disc transfer plate 22. Such guide means comprises aguide member 91 located on the path of the disc 5 from the slot 3a tothe disc transfer plate 22, viz., at the rear of the disc transfer plate22 and is securely attached to, for example, the base member 10a of thetray structure 10 by means of, for example, studs as shown in views (A)and (C) of FIG. 14. The guide member 91 is spaced apart from the lowerface of the base member 10a and has a front end portion inclinedupwardly in forward direction as will be best seen in view (B) of FIG.14. The disc 5 which has been inserted into the housing 2 through theslot 3a in the front panel 3 and which is being moved deeper into thehousing 2 is brought into sliding contact at its leading end with thelower surface of the inclined front end portion of the guide member 91and is thus enabled to correctly reach the predetermined position on thedisc transfer plate 22. The guide member 91 is formed with a circularopening aligned with the opening 10d in the tray structure 10 forproviding an unobstructed access to the objective lens 33a in thecarriage assembly 33 (FIGS. 8 and 9).

When a disc 5 is placed correctly on the disc transfer plate 22, thedisc 5 has its leading end located below a rear end portion of the basemember 10a of the tray structure 10. A playback re-start switch unit 93is provided below this rear end portion of the tray structure 10 asshown in views (A), (B) and (C) of FIG. 14 and is secured to the basemember 10a of the tray structure 10 by means of, for example, a screw asshown in FIG. 6. This playback re-start switch unit 93 is arranged to beactuated when the disc placed on the disc transfer plate 22 is movedslightly rearwardly beyond the predetermined position on the transferplate 22. The re-start switch unit 93 is engageable with the edge of thedisc 5 at the leading end of the disc through an actuating member 94which has a portion located in front of the switch unit 93 and movablein the direction of the arrow Y, the portion of the member 94 beingbiased forwardly. As will be understood more clearly as the descriptionproceeds, the playback re-start switch unit 93 is to be actuated whenthe disc 5 which has once been played back is to be used for a secondtime without withdrawing the disc from the automatic disc player. Theswitch unit 93 thus forms part of a suitable driver circuit connected tothe coil unit of the main drive motor 20.

The automatic disc player embodying the present invention furthercomprises mechanical detecting means responsive to the movements of thedisc 5 and the tray structure 10 and operative to indicate that the disc5 is positioned correctly on the disc transfer plate 22. In theembodiment herein shown, such detecting means comprises a pivot rod 96projecting downwardly from the lower face of a left end portion of thebase member 10a of the tray structure 10 as shown in FIG. 2. Abell-crank lever 97 is pivotally mounted on this pivot rod 96 and hastwo arm portions extending in opposite directions away from the pivotrod 96 as also shown in views (A), (B) and (C) of FIG. 15. Pins 97a and97b project downwardly from these opposite arm portions, respectively,of the bell-crank lever 97. The pin 97a projecting from one arm portionis located to be engageable with the edge of the disc 5 correctly placedon the disc transfer plate 22 as shown in view (B) of FIG. 15. This armportion of the lever 97 is per se engageable with an actuator elementprojecting from a disc position detector switch unit 98 which issupported on a switch support member 99 which is also pivotally mountedon the pivot rod 96. The bell-crank lever 97 is thus operative to pressthe actuator element of the switch unit 98 when turned counter clockwisein FIG. 15 about the center axis of the pivot rod 96 as shown in views(B) and (C) of FIG. 15. The switch support member 99 is urged to turnclockwise in the drawings (FIGS. 2 and 15) about the axis of the pivotrod 96 by means of appropriate biasing means such as a helical tensionspring (not shown) anchored at one end to the support member 99 and atthe other to, for example, the tray structure 10. This biasing means isalso effective to urge the lever 97 to turn clockwise in the drawingsabout the axis of the pivot rod 96. The chassis structure 7 has a lugportion 7f upstanding from the left end of the main chassis member 7aand located in the vicinity of the rear end of the chassis member 7a asshown in FIG. 6. The pin 97b projecting from the other arm portion ofthe bell-crank lever 97 is located to be engageable with this lugportion 7f of the chassis structure 7 as shown in view (C) of FIG. 15when the tray structure 10 is moved to a predetermined position withrespect to the chassis structure 7 from, for example, the positionillustrated in FIG. 2. The disc position detector switch unit 98 isadapted to close when a disc 5 is correctly placed on the disc transferplate 22 and is electrically connected to the main drive motor 20through an appropriate control circuit (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the support structure 28 supporting thepreviously described carriage assembly 34 has a position detector switchunit 101 mounted on the left side portion thereof. The detector switchunit 101 is responsive to backward movement of the carriage assembly 34on the support structure 28 and has an actuator element 101a engageablewith a projection 31e on the slider 31 movably mounted on the supportstructure 28. The actuator element 101a and the projection 31e arelocated so that the projection 31e is brought into pressing engagementwith the actuator element 101a when the carriage assembly 34 being movedforwardly of the support structure 28 reaches a predetermined homeposition with respect to the housing 2. The position detector switchunit 101 is thus operative to produce a signal indicating that thecarriage assembly 34 has been moved back to the home position at the endof each playback operation.

In association with the tray structure 10 is provided a positiondetector switch unit 103 which is responsive to the movement of the traystructure 10 with respect to the chassis structure 7. The detectorswitch unit 103 is mounted on the left side wall portion of the chassisstructure 7 as shown in FIG. 4. The detector switch unit 103 has anactuator element engageable with a portion of the tray structure 10 whenthe tray structure 10 is in a predetermined rearmost limit position onthe chassis structure 7. At the rear of this position detector switchunit 103 is provided a position detector switch unit 104 which isresponsive to the movement of the left movable member 14 with respect tothe chassis structure 7. The position detector switch unit 104 ismounted on the left side wall portion of the chassis structure 7 bymeans of a bracket member 105 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The detectorswitch unit 104 has an actuator element engageable with a portion of themovable member 14 when the movable member 14 is moved to a predeterminedrearmost limit position with respect to the chassis structure 7. Theposition detector switch unit 104 is thus operative to produce a signalindicating the loading of a disc into the automatic disc player and theclamping of the disc on the turntable 45 are complete.

The above described playback re-start switch unit 93 and the variousdetector switch units 98, 101, 103 and 104 as well as the controlbuttons 6 shown in FIG. 1 are all electrically connected to a controlmodule provided within the housing 2, though not shown in the drawings.The various drive means such as the motors 20, 38 and 46 as hereinbeforedescribed are started and shut off at timings dictated by signalssupplied from this control module.

Description will now be made with concurrent reference to FIGS. 1 to 18regarding the operation of the automatic disc player constructed ashereinbefore described.

Operation of the automatic disc player starts with manual insertion of adisc 5 into the housing 2 through the slot 3a in the front panel 3 ofthe housing 2. While the disc 5 is being inserted through the slot 3a,the disc is passed between the resilient strips 76 and 77 (FIG. 13)behind the slot 3a and is cleared of static charges which may have beendeposited on the surfaces of the disc. The disc 5 thus inserted throughthe horizontally elongated slot 3a is first brought into engagement atits leading edge portion with the disc retaining pins 54f and 55f on theretainer plates 54 and 55 forming part of the first and second positionholding means 61 and 62, respectively. As the disc 5 is moved forwardlythrough the slot 3a, the disc forces the pins 54f and 55f to move awayfrom each other in the direction of the arrow X. It therefore followsthat the retainer plates 54 and 55 are caused to move away from eachother with respect to the support plate 51 against the force of thetension spring 64. This causes the synchronizer plates 57 and 58 to turnclockwise and counter clockwise in FIG. 2 about the center axes of thepivot pins 57a and 58a, respectively. After the center axis of the disc5 thus travelling forwardly is moved past the line joining the centeraxes of the pins 54f and 55f, the pins 54f and 55f are allowed to movetoward each other so that the disc 5 is urged to move forwardly by theforce of the spring 64 which acts on the retainer plates 54 and 55 andcan therefore be moved forwardly if the disc 5 is released from theoperator's hand. As the retainer plates 54 and 55 are thus moved towardeach other with respect to the support plate 51 by the force of thetension spring 64, the synchronizer plates 57 and 58 are caused to turnin counter clockwise and clockwise directions, respectively, in FIG. 2toward their initial positions with respect to the support plate 51. Thedisc 5 admitted into the housing 2 is moved under the guidance of theguide member 91 located at the rear end of the tray structure 10 untilthe disc 5 reaches the proper position on the disc transfer plate 22which at this stage is still held at rest together with the traystructure 10 and the movable members 13 and 14. The disc 5 thuspositioned correctly on the disc transfer plate 22 is retained in thisposition by the disc retaining pins 54f and 55f on the retainer plates54 and 55 and the disc retaining pins pins 57h and 58h on thesynchronizer plates 57 and 58. In this fashion, the disc 5 can bemaintained in the correct position on the disc transfer plate 22 if anyshocks or vibrations are transferred to the housing 2 as where theautomatic disc player is installed on a motor vehicle.

When the disc 5 is positioned on the disc transfer plate 22, the dischas its leading edge portion brought into engagement with the pin 97a onthe bell-crank lever 97 as shown in view (B) of FIG. 15. This causes thelever 97 to turn counter clockwise about the axis of the pivot rod 96against the force of the associated spring (not shown) and accordinglybrings the arm portion supporting the pin 97a into pressing engagementwith the actuator element of the switch unit 98, causing the switch unit98 to close. In response to an output signal accordingly supplied fromthe switch unit 98, the main drive motor 20 is actuated to start anddrives the left movable member 14 for rearward movement with respect tothe chassis structure 7. In this instance, the power output of the motor20 is transmitted through the reduction gear unit 19 (FIG. 4) to therack member 14c integral with or secured to the movable member 14 andcauses the movable member 14 to move rearwardly with respect to thechassis structure 7. Under these conditions, the locking pin 26 on thelever 25 forming part of the lock/unlock means is received in the camslot 14e in the movable member 14 so that the movable member 14 andaccordingly the disc transfer plate 22 are held against movement withrespect to the tray structure 10. Thus, the movable members 13 and 14,tray structure 10 and disc transfer plate 22 are moved rearwardly as asingle unit with respect to the chassis structure 7 by the power outputfrom the main drive motor 20. While these members and structure arebeing thus moved with respect to the chassis structure 7, the lockingpin 26 slides on the upper face of the chassis structure 7 along theleft edge of the structure 7.

As the unit of the movable members 13 and 14, tray structure 10 and disctransfer plate 22 is rearwardly moved a predetermined distance from itsinitial position within the housing 2, the disc 5 on the transfer plate22 is almost in its entirety admitted into the housing 2. Approximatelyat this point of time, the pin 97b on the bell-crank lever 97 (FIG. 15)is brought into abutting engagement with the upstanding lug portion 7fof the chassis structure 7 as shown in view (C) of FIG. 15. Thebell-crank lever 97 is therefore forcibly held in the angular positionpressing the actuator element of the disc position detector switch unit98, allowing the main drive motor 20 to drive the movable member 14 forfurther rearward movement with respect to the chassis structure 7. Thefurther rearward movement of the movable member 14 causes the bell-cranklever 97 to turn counter clockwise about the axis of the pivot rod 96against the force of the associated spring, with the result that the armportion of the lever 97 carrying the pin 97a is disengaged from the disc5 on the disc transfer plate 22, as shown in view (C) of FIG. 15. Thedisc 5 placed on the disc transfer plate 22 now reaches a positionhaving its center axis substantially aligned with the axis of rotationof the turntable 45 positioned below the transfer plate 22.

Simultaneously as the disc 5 is released from the bellcrank lever 97,the locking pin 26 on the lever 25 is withdrawn from the cam slot 14eand enters the elongated slot 14f in the movable member 14 as shown inFIG. 16 of the drawings. As the pin 26 is thus admitted into theelongated slot 14e, it is also received in the cutout 7c in the chassisstructure 7 so that the tray structure 10 is locked to the chassisstructure 7 and accordingly to the housing 2 by means of the locking pin26. With the locking pin 26 being located in the elongated slot 14f inthe movable member 14, the movable member 14 is now allowed to movefurther rearwardly with respect to the tray structure 10 and the disctransfer plate 22 allowed to move vertically with respect to the traystructure 10. It therefore follows that the movable members 13 and 14alone are permitted to further move rearwardly with respect to thehousing 2 until the movable members 13 and 14 ultimately reaches thepositions represented by the position of the member 14 in FIG. 17. Asthe movable members 13 and 14 are thus moved rearwardly with respect tothe tray structure 10 and accordingly to the disc transfer plate 22, thedisc transfer plate 22 is caused to move downwardly with respect to thechassis structure 10 with its guide pins 22a moved stepwise downwardlyin the stepping cam holes 13d and 14d and its guide pins 22a' movedstepwise downwardly in the stepping cam hole 13d' and 14d' in themovable members 13 and 14, respectively. With the disc transfer plate 22thus moved downwardly with respect to the tray structure 10 andaccordingly to the turntable 45, the disc 5 on the transfer plate 22 islanded on the turntable 45 when or at least by the time the pins 22a and22a' reach the foremost and lowermost ends of the stepping cam holes13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d' in the movable members 13 and 14 as shown inFIG. 17.

With the movement of the movable members 13 and 14 with respect to thetray structure 10, furthermore, the guide pins 51a of the support plate51 forming part of the disc clamp means are caused to lower along theslots 13g and 14g in the movable members 13 and 14, respectively, aswill be also seen from FIG. 17. It therefore follows that the supportplate 51 and accordingly the clamping member 52 carried thereon arecaused to move downwardly until the clamping member 52 has its lowerannular portion received on the disc 5 on the turntable 45 as shown inFIG. 18 of the drawings. The distance of movement of the support plate51 between its uppermost position (which corresponds to the locations ofthe rearmost and uppermost ends of the slots 13d and 14d) and theposition thus seated on the disc 5 on the turntable 45 (which positionlargely corresponds to the locations of the foremost and lowermost endsof the slots 13d and 14d) is selected to be, for example, about 8.5 mm.In this instance, the distance of movement of the disc transfer plate 22between its uppermost position with respect to the turntable 45 (whichposition corresponds to the locations of the rearmost and uppermost endsof the holes 13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d') and its lowermost position (whichcorresponds to the locations of the foremost and lowermost ends of theholes 13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d') is selected to be about 6.5 mm. Thedifference of about 2 mm between the distance of movement of the disctransfer plate 22 and that of the support plate 51 results from theexistence of the horizontal intermediate portions of the stepping camholes 13d, 14d, 13d' and 14d' along which the disc transfer plate 22 isto be moved.

Simultaneously as the disc 5 is clamped between the turntable 45 and theclamp member 52, the movable members 13 and 14 reach their rearmostlimit positions with respect to the housing 2. When the movable member14 is moved to such a position, it is brought into pressing engagementwith the actuator element of the position detector switch unit 104 asshown in FIG. 17 and causes the switch unit 104 to close. A controlsignal is supplied from the previously mentioned control module to themain drive motor 20, which is accordingly brought to a stop. Theautomatic disc player is now ready for playback operation. It may benoted that the backward movement of the right movable member 13 causesthe lever 85 of the double loading preventive means (FIG. 5) to turnclockwise in FIG. 5 so that the slot closing member 86 engaging thelever 85 is raised and located immediately at the rear of the slot 3a inthe housing 2, thereby preventing loading of another disc into thehousing 2.

When the playback start button 6a out of the control buttons 6 (FIG. 1)on the housing 2 is depressed manually, the spindle drive motor 46 andthe motor 38 for driving the carriage assembly 34 are actuated to startand the automatic disc player starts the playback operation with thedisc 5 carried on the turntable 45. When the carriage assembly 34reaches a predetermined limit position with respect to the supportstructure 28, the motors 38 and 46 are brought to a stop so that theturntable 45 stops rotation and the carriage assembly 34 stops movementalong the screw shaft 37. The main drive motor 20 is now actuated tostart rotation in the opposite direction, driving the tray structure 10,movable members 13 and 14, disc transfer plate 22 and disc clampingmember 52 for movement through a reversal of the motions hereinbeforedescribed. These members and units are thus returned to their respectiveinitial positions in the housing 2 and the carriage assembly 34 is movedback to the initial home position thereof with the motor 38 alsoactuated to start rotation in the opposite direction. The disc 5 whichhas been played back is in this manner conveyed backwardly in thehousing 2 and is withdrawn out of the housing 2 through the slot 3a. Ifit is desired that the disc 5 which has once been played back be playedback for a second time, the playback re-start switch unit 93 is closedwhen the disc is manually pressed rearwardly while it remains on theturntable 45.

While a preferred embodiment of an automatic disc player according tothe present invention has thus far been described, such an embodiment issimply illustrative of the gist of the present invention and may thus bechanged or modified in numerous manner if desired.

As described with reference to FIG. 6, the support structure 28 formingpart of the playback means of the disc player embodying the presentinvention is coupled to the chassis structure 7 by means of the screws29 and rubber bushings 29'. FIG. 19 of the drawings shows an example ofthe arrangement including such fastening means. As shown, the rubberbushing 29' consists of an upper annular flange portion and a lowergenerally cup-shaped hollow portion with a circumferential groove formedbetween these two portions. The upper panel portion of the main chassismember 7a of the chassis structure 7 is formed with a circular opening7g defined by a rim portion which is closely received in the abovementioned circumferential groove between the upper annular flangeportion and the lower cup-shaped hollow portion of the bushing 29'. Thelower cup-shaped portion has at its bottom an aperture through which thescrew 29 is threaded into a hole the upper panel portion of the supportstructure 28. A rigid collar member 106 is fitted into the cup-shapedhollow portion through the opening in the annular flange portion of thebushing 29'. As also shown in FIG. 20, the collar member 106 has anupper annular flange portion 106a and a lower disc portion 106b axiallyconnected to the upper annular flange portion 106a through a cylindricalstem portion. The upper annular flange portion 106a of the collar member106 is larger in diameter than the circular opening 7g in the chassismember 7a as will be seen from FIG. 19 and is closely received on theupper face of the flange portion of the rubber bushing 29'.

Where the disc player embodying the present invention is used forautomotive use, the player will be frequently subjected to shocks andvibrations transferred from the road wheels of the vehicle. The shocksand vibrations may reach the chassis structure 7 through the housing 2of the player and may cause the rubber bushing 29' to deform as, forexample, illustrated in FIG. 21 and would be disabled from functioningproperly as shock and vibration attenuating means if it were not for thecollar member 106 in the bushing 29' in main chassis member 7a of thechassis structure 7. Such objectional deformation of the rubber bushing29' is prevented by the rigid collar member 106 which closely engagesthe bushing 29' inside the cup-shaped hollow portion of the bushing 29'as will be readily understood. Preferably, the rubber bushing 29' has agenerally frusto-conical internal wall portion tapering toward the upperannular flange portion of the bushing 29' and in this instance, thelower disc portion 106b of the collar member 106 has an outer wallportion tapered conformingly to this frusto-conical internal wallportion of the bushing 29'. The tapered outer wall portion of the collarmember 106 is held in close contact with the frusto-conical internalwall portion of the bushing 29' and prevents the bushing 29' from beingmoved with respect to the chassis member 7a or even dislodged from thechassis member 7a.

The annular flange portion 106a of the collar member 106 being larger indiameter than the circular opening 7g in the chassis member 7a as abovedescribed, the collar member 106 might be liberated from the rubberbushing 29' when the flange portion of the collar member 106 is raisedaway from the surface of the chassis member 7a if the annular flangeportion of the bushing 29' is caused to thermally expand and thereaftershrink to the initial shape. Such an inconvenience can be avoided if theflange portion 106a of the collar member 106 is shaped to have anoutside diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the circularopening 7g in the chassis member 7a as shown in FIG. 22.

As described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 10, the carriage assembly 34is slidably supported on the two parallel guide rods 30a and 30b eachextending in the direction of the arrow Y. The guide rods 30a and 30bare supported on the support structure 28 as also noted previously. FIG.23 shows the arrangement in which the guide rod 30a is mounted on thesupport structure 28 in a manner to provide ease of assembly. As shownin FIG. 23, the support structure 28 has further mounted thereon a pin111 which is located to be engaged by an appropriate portion of thecarriage assembly 34 when the carriage assembly is moved to its limitposition. The guide rod 30a is located in conjunction with this pin 111and is retained to the support structure 28 at one end by means of afirst retainer element 112 and at the other by means of a secondretainer element 113. The first and second retainer elements 112 and 113are securely fastened to or integral with the support structure 28. Thefirst retainer element 112 has a concavity receiving one end portion ofthe guide rod 30a and defined by a pair of side wall portions and anupper wall portion receiving the end portion of the rod 30a at the upperend of the portion. The upper wall portion of the first retainer element112 is thinner than the remaining portion of the element 112 and iselastically deformable when pressed in a direction normal to the wallportion as by the end portion of the guide rod 30a. The above mentionedpin 111 is located in the vicinity of this first retainer element 112and bears at its upper end against an axial portion of the guide rod 30aat an appropriate distance from the first retainer element 112, the pin111 thus serving as a first bearing member for the guide rod 30a. Aswill be seen from FIG. 24, the spacing "A" between the plane flush withthe inner surface of the upper wall portion of the first retainerelement and the plane flush with the upper end face of the pin 11 thusserving as the second bearing member for the guide rod 30a is slightlyless than the diameter of the guide rod 30a. The second retainer element113 is generally cylindrical and has a ledge portion 113a receiving theother end portion of the guide rod 30a on its upper face, the ledgeportion thus serving as a second bearing member for the guide rod 30a.The end portion of the guide rod 30a received on the ledge portion 113aof the second retainer element 113 is secured to the upper face of theledge portion by means of the flange portion 114a of a flanged screw 114downwardly threaded into a top portion of the retainer element 113. Inthe vicinity of the second retainer element 113 is located a thirdretainer element 115 which sidewise engages the guide rod 30a at acertain distance from the second retainer element 113 to restrictlateral displacement of the guide rod 30a with respect to the supportstructure 28.

When the guide rod 30a is to be assembled to the support structurehaving the first and second retainer elements 112 and 113 thus arranged,one end portion of the guide rod 30a is first inserted into theconcavity in the first retainer element 112 as shown in view (A) of FIG.25. The guide rod is then forced at the other end thereof against theupper face of the ledge portion 113a of the second retainer element 113by the flange portion 114a of the flanged screw 114 being driven intothe top portion of the retainer element 113, as shown in view (B) ofFIG. 25. In this instance, the pin 111 serving as the first bearingmember for the guide rod 30a provides a fulcrum point for the leverageaction imparted to the guide rod 30a. When the screw 114 is threadedinto the second retainer element 113 as far as it is permitted toadvance, the guide rod 30a is secured to the support structure 28 at oneend by the first retainer element 112 and at the other by the secondretainer element 113. The height, over the surface of the supportstructure 28, of the guide rod 30a thus secured to the structure 28 islargely dictated by the level of the upper end face of the pin 111serving as the first bearing member and the upper face of the ledgeportion 113a of the second retainer element 113 serving as the firstbearing member. The side wall portions of the first retainer element 112are shaped to approach each other toward the upper wall portion of theelement 112 as will be seen from view (A) of f 26. For this reason, theend of the guide rod 30a received in the first retainer element 112 isdisplaced away from the lower end toward the upper end of the concavityin the element 112 when the opposite end of the guide rod 30a is beingforced downwardly by the flange portion 114a of the flanged screw 114.The end of the guide rod 30a fitted into the first retainer element 112is thus forced against the inner surface of the upper wall portion ofthe element 112 and causes the thinner upper wall portion to elasticallydeform as shown in view (B) of FIG. 26. This assures the guide rod 30ato be constantly held in correct position with respect to the supportstructure 28 and accordingly to the carriage assembly 34 supported onthe guide rods 30a and 30b. To provide an enhanced degree of elasticity,the upper wall portion of the first retainer element 112 may be formedwith a slot 116 parallel with the guide rod 30a as shown in FIG. 27. Theguide rod 30a is held against axial movement with respect to the supportstructure 28 by the rear end wall portion 112b (FIG. 25) of the firstretainer element 112 and the vertical face 113b forming the ledgeportion 113a of the second retainer element 113. From the abovedescription it will be understood that the guide rod 30a can beassembled to the support structure 28 easily and correctly using the pin111 as means to provide a fulcrum point for the guide rod 30a.

As has been described hereinbefore, an automatic disc player accordingto the present invention includes a housing (2) having an elongated slot(3a) through which a disc is to be inserted into the housing (2), discplayback means (including the support structure 28, guide rods 30a and30b, carriage assembly 34, turntable 45, spindle motor 46 etc)accommodated within the housing and including a turntable to carry adisc during playback operation, disc carrier means (including the tray10 and the disc transfer plate 22) operative to convey the disc toward apredetermined position with respect to the playback means after the discis inserted through the slot in the housing, and disc clamp meansoperative to move the disc correctly to the predetermined position afterthe disc is conveyed toward the predetermined position by the disccarrier means, wherein the disc clamp means comprises a support member51 which is movable between a release position remoter from theturntable and a disc clamp position closer to the turntable, and a discclamping member 52 which is rotatably supported on the support memberthrough a generally elliptical opening formed in the support member andwhich is cooperative with the turntable for having a disc clampedbetween the turntable and the disc clamping member when the supportmember is in the disc clamp position with respect to the turntable, thedisc clamping member being formed with a circumferential groove throughwhich the support member engages the disc clamp member along its rimportion defining the elliptical opening therein, the outside diameter ofthe disc clamping member being smaller than the diameter of the majoraxis and larger than the diameter of the minor axis of the ellipticalopening in the support member. With such configuration of the disc clampmeans, the disc clamping member 52 can be readily assembled to ordismantled from the support member 51 and can thus be cleaned withutmost ease during use of the disc player.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automatic optical disc player of anti-shocktype, which comprises:a housing having an elongated slot; a chassismember mounted within and on said housing via a first decouplingresilient means; disc playback means accommodated within said housing;and disc carrier means mounted direct on said chassis member forcarrying a disc inserted into said slot between a start position closeto said slot and a transfer position close to said playback means andfor transferring and receiving said disc to and from said playbackmeans, said disc playback means including a support structure mounted onsaid chassis member via second decoupling resilient means, disc drivemeans rigidly mounted on said support structure for rotating said disctransferred thereto from said disc carrier means about a rotating axis,and optical pick-up means for reading a signal from said disc, saidpick-up means including a carriage assembly carrying thereon saidoptical pick-up device which emits a light beam and produces an electricsignal converted from an optical signal contained in a reflected lightbeam returned thereto, guide assembly rigidly mounted on said supportstructure for guiding said carriage assembly along a radial direction ofsaid rotating axis, and a positioning assembly connected to saidcarriage assembly for positioning said carriage assembly with respect tosaid support structure structure while urging said carriage assembly tomove along said guide assembly, said support structure being hungthrough said second resilient means from said chassis member.
 2. Anautomatic optical disc player of an anti-shock type, which comprises:ahousing having an elongated slot; a chassis member mounted within and onsaid housing via a first decoupling resilient means; disc playback meansaccommodated within said housing; and disc carrier means mounted directon said chassis member for carrying a disc inserted into said slotbetween a start position close to said slot and a transfer positionclose to said playback means and for transferring and receiving saiddisc to and from said playback means, said disc playback means includinga support structure mounted on said chassis member via second decouplingresilient means, disc drive means mounted direct on said supportstructure for rotating said disc transferred thereto from said disccarrier means about a rotating axis, and optical pick-up means supporteddirect on said support structure for positioning an optical pick-updevice at a radial position of the rotating axis, said second decouplingresilent means including: a generally cylindrical tubular resilientmember having one end thereof closed, the other end thereof opened andan intermediate neck portion of a reduced diameter, said resilientmember being fitted into an opening provided in said chassis member soas to engage at the intermediate neck portion thereof with said chassismember; and a general cylindrical rigid collar member tightly fittedinto the open end of said resilient member, said support structure beingsecured to said closed end of said resilent member.
 3. An automaticoptical disc player as set forth in claim 2, in which said resilientmember is provided with a flange portion at the open end thereof, andsaid rigid collar member is provided with a flange portion coextensivewith and attached onto said flange portion of said resilient member,said flange portion of said rigid collar member having an outsidediameter substantially equal to the diameter of said opening in saidchassis member.
 4. An automatic optical disc player as set forth inclaim 2, in which said second decoupling resilient means is disposed atequal spaces in the circumference of a circle whose center is positionedat the center of gravity of said disc playback means.
 5. An automaticoptical disc player as set forth in claim 2, in which said seconddecoupling resilient means is disposed at equal spaces in thecircumference of a circle whose center is positioned at the middlebetween a middle point of a movement path of said pick-up means and arotating axis of said disc drive means.
 6. An automatic optical discplayer of an anti-shock type, which comprises:a housing having anelongated slot; a chassis member mounted within and on said housing viaa first decoupling resilient means; disc playback means accommodatedwithin said housing; and disc carrier means mounted direct on saidchassis member for carrying a disc inserted into said slot between astart position close to said slot and a transfer position close to saidplayback means and for transferring and receiving said disc to and fromsaid playback means, said disc playback means including a supportstructure mounted on said chassis member via second decoupling resilientmeans, disc drive means mounted direct in said support structure forrotating said disc transferred thereto from said disc carrier meansabout a rotating axis, and optical pick-up means supported on saidsupport structure for positioning an optical pick-up device at a radialposition of the rotating axis, said optical pick-up means including acarriage assembly carrying thereon said optical pick-up device whichemits a light beam and produces an electric signal converted from anoptical signal contained in a reflected light beam returned thereto, aguide assembly for guiding said carriage assembly along a radialdirection of said rotating axis, and a positioning assembly forpositioning the carriage assembly with respect to said support structurewhile urging said carriage assembly to move along said guide assembly,said guide assembly including: a pair of guide rods; and a guide supportassembly mounted on said support structure, for supporting said guiderods in parallel with each other along a radial direction of saidrotating axis of said disc, said guide support assembly including: aretaining element having an engaging portion which is engageable with anupper side surface of one end portion of said guide rod; a first bearingelement firmly fixed in said support structure, for bearing a lower sidesurface of an end portion near to said one end portion of said guide rodon a top end thereof; a second bearing element firmly fixed on saidsupport structure member and having a ledge portion, for bearing theother end portion of said guide rod with said ledge portion thereof; anda securing means for securing the other end portion of said guide rod tosaid ledge portion of said second bearing element, the distance betweensaid upper inside surface of the wall portion of said retaining elementand said upper surface of said first bearing element being slightly lessthan the diameter of said guide rod.
 7. An automatic optical disc playeras set forth in claim 6, in which an engaging portion of said retainingelement is at least in part elastically deformable.